I'd like to start a thread to discuss gain settings and setup for the new HoverflyGIMBAL. I just got mine installed today and now the tuning begins. I'll tell you right off the bat, full gain on both tilt and roll is not the right setup for the first time out.

Thanks, this is what I am looking for.

Subscribed - thanks !
JiP

Full day of tests today with AV200 under a Skyjib8. Hunted over a wide of gains today, mostly in the sub-500's. Keeping both the tilt and roll equal as a reference point. The last test I bumped it up and it looks like 600-650 is getting to be the zone for roll. Tilt needs a little work, thinking slightly higher.

Of course these ranges are for my setup. But it may get some AV200 users a baseline.

Another full day of flight testing and unfortunately I'm not getting anywhere. Tilt seems to be my issue. I'm going to transition from flight tests to bench tests and focus on one axis at a time. Start gain at -0- and film each test to -1000-. And then see at what point things go from bad to better to bad again.

I installed 0.91 and re-calibrated the gyros, getting a "Good" status. But I'll come back after a flight and the roll axis will not be flat. So the horizon is drifting. Some flights are fine, others are not.

In terms of setup, I have the GIMBAL mounted flat (parallel to the ground), facing forward, on a custom aluminum bracket mounted to the top front of the AV200.


My octo is very stable, so any jitters I'm getting are coming from the AV200 mechanics/servos and/or HoverflyGIMBAL settings. If fact, if I fly with the AV200 turned off, it's smooth and beautiful! hahaa

I find that the av200 has alot of mechanical shake. Most of this comes from single shaft connection for the pan.

Yes, I was having a little trouble with the mount 360 shaft not being tight enough. But I was able to fix that. Do you have any idea what the gain settings that were used on the video test hoverfly released?

Originally Posted by photronix

I find that the av200 has alot of mechanical shake. Most of this comes from single shaft connection for the pan.

I had to fix the pan mount on the av200 also. I also occasionally have the "roll bearings" back away from the roll cage arc and induce additional shake because of a bad mechanical connection. I loosen the bearings, adjust in the slot and all tightens up for awhile.

Yes, there are a few places slop can work its way into the AV200. I spent a few hours this morning turning up the mechanicals.

I'm still not getting very good results yet. But I'm going to keep trying.

I do think AV200 has some mechanical shake, not only pan but the cage mechanism has its share too.

defxxx, can you share what kind of mechanical tuning you made?

Thanks

I first drilled out the 360 pan washer so I could actually get the main pan nut tight enough to tighten the pan pulley to the baseplate.

Then I removed the roll servo gear to see how smooth the roll was. I adjusted the roll cage rollers so they are now tight against the cage.

I then noticed there was a small protrusion on that cage bearing surface from the manufacturing process. This was causing a bump in the roll. So a little 200 grit sandpaper knocked that down.

I reinstalled the roll servo gear and then noticed that you can under and over-tighten this gear to the servo. Too loose will cause a gritty feel to the roll, too tight will slow the roll down from friction.

After that I made sure all the belts were tight and and snugged down all the hardware.

At this point it's as smooth as this gimbal is going to be.

At the end I noticed that the large tilt pulley isn't exactly perpendicular with the cage. When the tilt servo goes through its motion, the frame will torque and twist slightly. Bummer.

Originally Posted by defxxx

I first drilled out the 360 pan washer... Bummer.

I agree....why are we tweaking such an expensive mount?

I am working on making this better for all of us....

you guys should just buy Gary and Askman's gimbal

any news or new onboard video with the gimbal controller? looking for some like 3 axis heading lock or something?

Adidas, any cool when he will have full 90deg tilt capability and a DSLR yoke available? I have heard that they are both in the work..

yeah they are working on both......


the thing about gary and andrey is they take their time and only sell something when many beta testers get good repeatable results (which i am one of them )


I know they are always looking for better/cheaper servos and I know they are testing some now.....

And the DSL version will be a different setup, something a little more beefy to deal with the weight